Daydreaming

Lately I've been dreaming about...

But then I snap out of it and remember that it's December which means our ladies cut way back in their laying.  As in one egg in three days.  It's really depressing when you're used to a dozen a day.

Here are our top 3 reasons why I'm egg-longing:

1) Shorter days (day light) leads to less laying.  We try to combat this by putting a light (on a timer) in the hen house to extend their "days".  It's not very effective this year but in years past it helped a lot.

2) Many of our hens are aging out and our couple pullets aren't yet laying.  While Jamey thinks we should stop feeding the older hens (and turn them into soup) I can't quite condone it.  They're not my pets or anything, but when I stop producing eggs, I don't want someone to put me upside down in a cone and...well, you know.

3) Skunks and opossums have started frequenting our hen house and eating their feed and eggs.  Shame on them.  So far the Havahart Trap has caught several opossums which Jamey has taken for a drive, but one of these days, he's going to trap a skunk and then what?

Lack of water can also slow up egg production, so make sure to provide plenty of beverage for your hens.

This shortage has lead to...I can hardly say it...buying eggs at the store.  This just makes me sad- not because it's bad to buy them at the store but because fresh, (real) free-range eggs are truly wonderful.  And I miss them. Pin It

Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

Our chickens lay the most lovely colored eggs on their own- hues of blue, brown, and pink.

So why would I need to dye Easter eggs?  Well, I was curious.  And for those of you who don't have access to eggs already colored by chickens, I thought you might like an option that celebrates even more of God's creation.  The instructions below show you how to dye blue, brown, yellow and pink eggs using purple cabbage, coffee grounds, turmeric, and beets.

Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs (recipe from Yankee magazine)
Read the instructions below carefully.  The ingredients below are totals- some will be divided.
Use only metal or glass utensils and bowls if you do not want your plastics and ceramics stained.

up to 2 dozen white eggs, hard-boiled
16 cups water
4 tbsp. white vinegar
4 tbsp. salt
2 small beets, chopped
1 small head purple cabbage, chopped
4 tbsp. ground coffee
5 tbsp. turmeric

If you have 4 sauce pans/pots (that can easily hold a quart and a half each), you can make all four batches of dye at one time.  If you're like me and only have two, you'll have to make two batches, rinse out your pots and make the next two.  You're going to make a "base" for each color and then add the ingredient that gives color.

For each batch, combine four cups of water, 1 tbsp. of white vinegar, and 1 tbsp. salt in a sauce pan/pot.  This is the base.  To each base add the coloring.  For the pink eggs, roughly chop two small beets (skins and all) and add them to a pot.  For the blue eggs, add 1 small head of purple cabbage roughly diced to another pot of base.  To the third pot, add four tbsp. of coffee grounds and to the fourth pot, 5 tbsp. turmeric.  Bring all four pots to a boil, then simmer (note times below).

beet dye- simmer for 20 minutes, strain through a sieve and let cool
cabbage dye- simmer for 20 minutes, strain through a sieve and let cool
coffee dye- simmer for 10 minutes, strain through a coffee filter and let cool
turmeric dye, simmer for 2-3 minutes, while whisking, until the turmeric dissolves (I should have done this longer), pour into a bowl/jar and let cool (no straining needed)

Once the dyes have cooled to room temperature, gently add the hard boiled eggs.  Refrigerate them until you've reached the desired intensity of color.

I pulled one of each out early for you to see (above), then returned them to the dye overnight (below).  Carefully, remove the eggs and let them air dry on a paper towel.  Keep refrigerated until you're ready to display/serve them.  Beautiful and much more natural-looking than artificially dyed eggs.

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Vibrant Pickled Easter Eggs

This is a re-post from April 2009.  I wanted to remind you all of these beautiful and delicious eggs. 

Some of my most vivid childhood memories of Easter are not my Easter basket, chocolate bunnies and marshmallow chicks. They are of the vibrant colored eggs in the center of my Grandma's table at Easter dinner.

I loved eggs even then- deviled, pickled red beet, hard-boiled, scrambled, you name it. Unfortunately, I had a mild egg allergy when I was a child. If I ate one, my inner elbows and the backs of my knees would break out into a spotty red rash. It was lovely. Thankfully, I have completely grown out of this.

For me to risk rash, the egg I was about to eat had to be special. And these Easter eggs were. Grandma displayed them in a large glass vase-like bowl that, now that I think about it was probably some kind of liquor decanter (although, to my knowledge, neither my Grandma or Grandpa drank liquor). Anyway, they were so pretty and it was so hard for me to wait for them to be passed around the table. They were tart, tangy and perfect.

This year, we are staying home for Easter. My sister and her family are joining us, as are some neighbors. Guess what is going to be in the center of my table?

Grandma's Pickled Easter Eggs
(make several days in advance)

10 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and rinsed
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
food coloring (at least three colors)

Combine the vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Divide vinegar mixture between at least three jars with lids, reserving a cup. Add food coloring (6 or 7 drops per color) to jars. Add peeled hard-boiled eggs- several to each jar. Fill jars with reserved vinegar mixture. Cover and refrigerate for several days before serving. Grandma says they will keep for several months. Mine are not going to last several days.

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A Few Glimpses

We've come to terms with the fact that others grow corn better than we do.  I'm okay with this.  Jamey does a good job growing some for us to eat and to add to what we get from the local farmer.  His love of corn is contagious.  Whenever we drive by a corn field (which is often) the kids go crazy saying, "Dad!  Look at all that corn!" or "Wow, that corn looks nice."  Even Miriam chimes in with "Look at all them corn!"  As you can see we (and I say we very loosely since all I did was pack it into bags) did corn this past week. 

This has to be the smallest egg our hens have ever laid.  Tears actually came to my eyes.  This is how hormonal much I love little bitty things.  Little eggs remind me of little babies- chicks, kittens, puppies, human babies- the whole lot of them- and they turn me into a blubbery mess.

Our tomatoes are coming!  Not quite fast enough to start canning, but there has been enough to add to suppers, sandwiches and, if you're Sadie, to eat in hand.  In case you've forgotten, my favorite tomato sandwich is toasting two slices of wheat bread, spreading peanut butter on one slice, mayonnaise on the other, laying in sliced tomatoes and then, well, eating it.  It's delish.

We've been stuffing our mouths with fruit this past week.  Red raspberries have started coming again, our peaches are soon ready to be picked, we've been eating some canteloupe from both our garden and the local farmstand (where we've also been picking up watermelon) and we've been buying local nectarines because we cannot wait for our order from the orchard to arrive. 

I love summer.

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Eggs Galore and A Send-Off

We've had chickens for four winters now and, for the first time, it seems as if the egg-laying stars have aligned.  Our flock of Ameracanas and both Golden and Silver Laced Wyandottes (and a few half-breeds) have always slowed down in their egg production each winter.

We've found that the two most important factors in good egg production are 1) making sure the birds have plenty of water and 2) giving them long days.  During the winter, the day light hours are significantly less and this leads to less eggs.  We hang a lamp in their roost that is on a timer.  It turns on early in the morning, shuts off when it's daylight, turns back on as the sun goes down and shuts off later in the evening.

All this to say, every winter we try to provide the perfect combination of food, water, and light (and, as always, access to the great out of doors at all times).  For some reason, since Christmas, our hens have been going above and beyond the call of duty.  They are laying machines!  This is what we came home to after Christmas travels.  We were gone a week and have about 25 laying hens, although a third of them are almost five years old.  Prior to Christmas, we were only getting a few a day.

The one thing we can think of that may have jump started this laying frenzy is that while we were away, there was snow on the ground here.  Our chickens are...well...they're wimps.  They don't like snow and refuse to walk in it.  So, while we were gone, they were holed up inside with unlimited feed (since we were away).  Normally, when there is no snow on the ground, they spend a lot of their day outside, scratching for bugs and green blades.  But even now that the snow has melted they keep laying away.

So, if you're local and you'd be interested in eggs, keep an eye on my personal facebook page and I'll put the word out when we have extras to sell.

I'm going to change the subject slightly and tell you something I've been holding off telling you.  Remember our rooster, Marv?  Well, this fall (months ago), we let him go.  No, we didn't release him into the wild.  We kind of fired him.  And, around here, if you're a rooster and we fire you, it means you're freezer bound.  If you'd like to read some of the best Marv stories and reminisce a bit with me, read here.

Marv

Marv became one of those roosters who was over-zealous in his roostery ways.  He crowed too early and too often.  He pestered the hens too much.  He turned on humans more than necessary (and even chased me around the garden a time or two).  He was beautiful and he put everything he had into his job, but he failed to consider his owners and their offspring.  Not that he should of.  He was a rooster.

Merv, Marv's son, was given a promotion and is now head rooster.  Actually, he's the only rooster.  He hardly ever crows.  He doesn't pester the hens so much (it helps that there is no competition around).  And, thanks to Marv, he's as timid as can be.  While he may be a little too timid in the protecting-the-flock department, we're more interested in our children being protected.  He's the perfect replacement.

We thought the kids would be upset about the changes, but they went with the flow and now can even collect eggs by themselves (if they stand on a bucket).

Merv

And, now, let's have a belated moment of silence for our literally fearless rooster, Marv. 

Thank you.  You may be dismissed.

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Updates, Odds & Ends

1) Late the other evening, as I was pulling into the driveway, my head lights shone on the back of the hen house.  The door was open and I could see a flash light or head lamp flickering around in there.  I just figured Jamey had gone out to collect eggs later than usual.  As I opened the van door, though, I heard, "Whack.  Whack, whack, whack!"  

Come to find out our chickens aren't getting ready to molt as we expected.  We've been getting less eggs because opossums have been eating them.  It's our fault really- for not collecting the eggs every day- leaving them out overnight as a regular smorgasbord for the local opossum population.  Who knows how many they have eaten- we've been noticing less eggs for weeks.  Jamey's most recent facebook status reads, "Egg-stealing possum death toll reaches 3".  Thanks, dear, for doing a job you hate.

2) The other night I made opossum chili for supper.  Ha!  If you could have seen the look on your face!  Not opossum, beef chili.  I used Deb's recipe which you can find here.  It was excellent.  The only changes I made were that I used 1 pound of ground beef (versus 3), I added two cups of frozen corn, and I cut back on the chili powder and cut out the dried red pepper flakes all together (for the kids' sake).

I was going to make Double Corn Bread to serve with it, but that morning Jamey made his oatmeal rolls- they looked so yummy and fresh that we just ate the chili with the rolls instead.  I would highly recommend trying this cornbread, though.  It's my favorite...

Double Corn Bread (Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2001)
Yields 6 servings (in an 8 x 8 pan)

1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup corn (thawed frozen is fine)
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
4 tbsp. butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Combine flour and next five ingredients in a large bowl.  Make a well in the mixture and set aside.  In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk and remaining ingredients.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until dry ingredients are moist.  Spread into a greased 8 x 8 baking pan and bake at 425 degrees for 15-20 or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let stand 10 minutes and serve.

3)  I am all in a tizzy (a good tizzy) because my hopes have been confirmed- Jamey's new rotation hours will get him home in time for dinner!!  I am all ready with a list of recipes to try or re-make that I can then share with you- if they measure up, that is.  All I can say is:  Stay.  Tuned.

4) Things with Sam and school have gone so much better this past week.  I think he just had to get it out of his system.  The expectations are clear and I think we've fallen into a good groove.  As a reward for a good attitude during the week, on Thursday afternoons (our Friday afternoon) they now get to watch a video.  No frivolous entertainment here, though.  I'm talking documentaries having to do with what we're studying.  This past week it was one of IMAX's movies on whales (we're studying them in science right now).  It seems to be a good motivator and fun way to celebrate a week of work done well.

5) It rained this past week!  And rained and rained and rained.  To think that just last weekend the land was so parched a brush fire spread like lightening.  This week the grass is green, I tell you, and we may even have to think about mowing one more time.

6) I still have this sensation regularly.  It's not going away.  I'm doing much better these days at trusting there is a reason behind it that will be revealed to me one day.  For now, I am just doing my best to trust.  To be still and know that He is God.  That is enough for now. Pin It

Swimming in Green Beans and Eggs

The title of this post says it all.  Green beans are pouring in from the garden and eggs are pouring in from the hen house- so fast I can barely keep up with either of them.

We've been eating green beans for supper every night (on the side) and the rest are chilling out in the freezer.  The eggs are filling up our fridge, laughing at me every time I open the door, saying, "Ha!  And you thought you'd found enough people to buy us."  For the first time, I am attempting to freeze eggs.  I've been told it can be done and that not only can they be thawed and used for baking, but also for omelets, scrambled, fried, you name it.  I'm using my trusty ice cube trays and will pop them out and into bags once they're frozen.

Last winter our hens slowed down to the point that we actually had to buy a couple dozen eggs.  That seems ludicrous to me in light of our surplus.  The frozen eggs will be saved in case we have another sparse winter egg-laying-wise.  Tell me.  Have you tried this?  Please tell me it worked splendidly.  Okay.  You can tell me if it didn't, too.

Freezing Green Beans

Rinse your beans well.  Snap (with your finger) or trim off (with a knife) the end of the bean that was attached to the plant.  It's your choice if you want to leave the little tail on at the other end or not.  We leave ours on.  Now you have another choice.  You can leave your beans whole, or you can cut them or french them.

I remember helping my mom use a green bean frencher/slicer.  It was a little contraption that attached to your counter top.  You fed the green beans through (a few at a time) while turning a crank.  The frencher cut your beans long-ways, so you had bean strands coming out the other end.

We cut our beans.  They're just easier to eat this way and also easier to pack into bags.  Leaving them whole looks elegant, but with little kids, the less cutting of food you have to do at the dinner table, the better.

Once you have your beans trimmed and how you want them, set a large pot of water to boil on your stove.  There should be enough water to completely cover the beans.  Bring it to a full boil, then add your beans.  Blanch them (leave them in the boiling water) for 4 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon or sieve (if you don't have a pot colander) remove the beans and place them directly into a large bowl of cold water with ice cubes.  You can save your hot water and re-use it several times before getting fresh.  The rule of thumb is to leave the green beans in the cold water for as long as they were in the hot.  When they've cooled down, drain them well and transfer them to freezer bags.  We like quart size.

The next step is crucial.  Take your sweaty self outside and sit down in your children's kiddie pool.  The neighbors might wonder about you, but you know what?  They probably already do.

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Loose Ends

All our recipes have been officially moved to the "pages" linked just under the banner at the top.  As I post new recipes, I'll add them to those pages so they'll be easy to find.  I've deleted the other recipe links to simplify things for myself.  Business meeting adjourned.

So, we're still eating granola as if our lives depend on it.  I go though phases like this.  Jamey seems to be going through this phase along with me because I found we were having to make more granola every few days.  Well, that's just silly.  So we started making double batches.  Yep, two gallons at once.  Hopefully, this will last us close to a week.  My chewing muscles are in the best shape of their lives.  If there was an Olympic event that showcased chewing muscles, I would totally enter.

It's not uncommon to find a really large egg every once in awhile, but a really small one?  That's not so common.  When I held this little one, it made my uterus ache.

 

Here's a real kid-pleaser recipe- at least at my house.  In my cookbook, it was called Turkey Tetrazzini, but I changed the dickens out of it and now I don't know what to call it.  Healthy Macaroni and Cheese with Chicken?  Creamy Chicken Pasta?  Fooey.  Let's just call it Chicken Tetrazzini.

Chicken Tetrazzini (Adapted from Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2003)
I use a homemade version of canned cream soup.  You can read about how to make it here.  This tetrazzini is a stove top version- no baking involved.

2 tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
2 (10 oz.) cans condensed cream of mushroom or chicken soup, undiluted OR the equivalent of 2 cans homemade creamed soup substitute (see link above)
3/4 cup water ONLY if you are using store bought condensed soup
6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken
16 ounces pasta (I used shells)
4 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to instructions on package.  In the meantime, saute chopped onion and red bell pepper in butter until tender.  Turn heat down to medium and stir in condensed soup or soup substitute, water (ONLY add water if you are using store bought condensed soup) and cheddar cheese, stirring until the cheese has melted and sauce is smooth.  Add cooked chicken, parsley, black pepper and parmesan cheese.  Heat through.  Add cooked, drained pasta and toss to combine.  Serve immediately.




Do you remember last January when I showed you some of the things that I chose from my grandparent's house after they moved out?  At the end of the post I told you that my favorite piece wasn't yet at our house.  Well, it is now and we just moved it inside.  It was my grandmother's canning cupboard.

It has two large doors, but we've chose to store those for now.  Leaving them off will mean less pinched fingers.  Since my pantry holds all our canning jars, this cupboard is a much needed place for books.  Jamey thinks we have too many books.  I don't think you can ever have too many books.   For math one day, I had Sam count all the books in the house.  Between board books to school books to cookbooks to gardening books to pharmacy law, he had his work cut out for him.

The cupboard is (obviously) very old.  Some would choose to strip it and paint it fresh. I put a few coats of clear stain on it to keep the paint from chipping off further, but that was it.  I prefer to leave it the way it is-  battered and bruised from years of use- holding jars of home-canned food.

By the way, how was your Easter?  We had a wonderful time celebrating with family and neighbors yesterday.  I did break my sugar fast and I'll tell you about how that went another day.  For now, let's keep the reality that Christ is alive on the tip of our minds.  Let's keep him off that cross and out of that tomb.  He's not there anymore.  Oh, no.  He put death and sin in it's place.  Let's do the same. Pin It

Eggs and Pie Crusts

When you have a lot of these...

You make a lot of quiche.  When you make a lot of quiche, you need a lot of these...

I've only been making my own pie crust for about a year and a half.  I don't know what I was waiting for.  It's not as hard as I thought it would be.  This is a good thing because we go through a lot of pie crust.  The majority of the pie crusts are filled with eggs, veggies and a variety of cheeses.

The recipe for my pie crust can be found here.  I've found that using using 1 cup shortening and 1 1/2 cup butter works just as well in place of all shortening (in the recipe link above).

 

Quiche is, hands down, a family favorite in our house.  We make it at least once a week.  The recipe I use is very versatile.  It can be adapted to suit whatever I have on hand.  Here is the basic (adaptable) recipe...

Our Favorite Quiche
Tomatoes or red bell peppers pair nicely with the feta cheese.  Broccoli or asparagus with cheddar.  Once baked and cooled, this quiche freezes beautifully.


1 tbsp. olive oil or butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 cups veggies (chopped fresh or roasted tomatoes, broccoli, fresh or roasted red bell peppers or asparagus)
2 tbsp. flour
6 eggs
1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or Monterrey jack work well) OR 1/2 cup feta
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

In a skillet, melt butter or heat oil.  Saute onion and garlic until onion is tender.  Add veggies and cook until just tender.  Add flour and saute for another minute, stirring constantly.  In a large bowl, combine eggs, cheeses, salt and pepper.  When the veggies are done, add them to the egg mixture.  Pour into a 9-inch pie crust and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until lightly brown on top and set in in the center.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

 

How do you like to fill your quiche? Pin It

Winter Chickens

It's been a long time since I've talked about our chickens. Our current count is 31. Our flock is made up of Golden-Laced Wyandottes (brown and black), Silver-Laced Wyandottes (white and black), Ameraucanas (lighter shades of brown), one lone meat bird (she was on the small side when we harvested so still remains) and several crosses (Wyandotte x Ameraucana) bred by our own birds.

Marv (the rooster in charge) has allowed our 'multi-colored' rooster (a Wyandotte and Ameraucana cross) to exist with the flock. Marv doesn't let him get too close to his favorite girls, but he does get a little action now and again. We're happy for him.

Marv, rooster in charge

'Multi-colored' rooster (He really needs a name, any suggestions?)

Winter can mean less eggs because there is less day light. Hens lay less when they are exposed to less light. Last year we had great success adding a light to their roost area on a timer to extend their day light at both ends of the day. This past fall, we were not quick enough in getting that lamp set up and their egg production came to a screeching halt.

That got our attention. As did having to buy three dozen eggs for the first time in almost three years. Ouch.

In went the light, but it took the girls a couple weeks to adjust and finally they started laying again. Then came the cold. We got two feet of snow followed by several weeks of frigid temperatures. Those poor birds rarely got off their roost. (Click here to see where our birds live.) Most of the day and night, they stayed huddled together for warmth. Egg production slowed again. Then the bulb burnt out. Heavens.

A new bulb went in, the temperatures crawled back up slowly and our pullets ("teenage" or less than a year old hens) finally started giving us some eggs (it takes about 5 months for a chick turned pullet to start laying). Our latest batch of bought laying hen chicks arrived this summer and are of the Silver-Laced Wyandotte variety. Their little pullet eggs are precious, so small they don't stand up very well in the cartons.

Regular-sized eggs on the left. Pullet eggs on the right.

The past week or so, we've been collecting 15 eggs a day. We have two families that currently buy eggs from us. If more start laying, we may be looking to add another.

Our chickens were plumb afraid of all that snow and didn't venture out until they could see patches of earth. During the winter months, they are allowed in the garden. They scratch up the ground, mixing the decomposing straw and leaves (our mulch) into the dirt and eating grubs. This stirring of the ground and their droppings add wonderful organic matter to our garden soil.

Our garden entrance

Three ladies in the garden

Can you find this hen? They love climbing/flying up on our hay bales- next year's garden mulch.

It's so nice to see them exploring their yard once again. I'm almost as excited for them as I am for myself to see those green shoots popping up everywhere. In the meantime, they scratch in the dirt and leaves, find things to climb on and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.

Winter view of back garden and red raspberry canes.

It's so nice to know that the eggs we eat are products of this happy flock. We're so glad we have them. Pin It

And So It Slows

The tomatoes are still ripening, but slowly. This means I'm having to save up the ripe ones in the fridge until I have enough for another batch to roast. I only have about half of last year's amount roasted and I had wanted more than that this year.

The red raspberries are still coming. We're still picking almost 2 quarts every other day- eating most and freezing some. The chickens and a groundhog are also enjoying them. I've seen them both jump up and pull down a cane so they can stand on it and eat the berries off.

Our fall lettuce in coming in nicely and we finally have green salads again. Don't forget this one. It's one of our all time favorites.

We are still enjoying our freezer meals (thank you everyone!). While I really enjoy cooking, I am really enjoying pulling wonderful meals from the freezer each morning to thaw. This means the only things I am making right now are baked oatmeal and yogurt. I do cook for company. I don't just feed them baked oatmeal and yogurt. Although, baked oatmeal with yogurt on top is pretty good. Leftovers and sandwiches are our lunch. Before long, though, I'll be taking stock and planning my fall/winter menus.

I haven't brought our chard in to freeze yet because it looks a bit sad. There is still new growing, but what's been there a little while is full of little holes. I should really get out there and cut back the old to allow more room for the new.

Our green bell peppers are straggling in. They are getting chopped up (thanks, Zoe and others, for the tip) and thrown into the freezer.

Jamey is having a hay day with his watermelons. They did really well this year and he has several more in the garden to bring in. He and Sadie polish them off real fast.

Our hens' egg production is slowing down a bit and they are starting to show signs of molt. Lately, the two roosters, other than Marv, have been getting chased out of the chicken yard. The larger one was one of Emma's chicks and the younger, one of Betty's. They are both crosses between a Golden-Laced Wyandotte (Marv) and an Ameracana. They hang out together.




The chicks don't look much like chicks anymore and we really must be moving them out of the tractor soon. The brown ones are meat birds and the others are Silver-Laced Wyandotte hens for laying.

It's a good thing the canning is over for this year. I just don't have the time. It's also a good thing I put up extra last year, anticipating this summer to be busier. It was. It allowed me to put up less. It scares me a bit to think of all that I will have to do next year once my reserves from last year and this year's bounty are gone.

Let's not think about that just yet. Let's just enjoy the slowness. Pin It

Fanny

Poor Fanny (she's a hen if you're just tuning in). After setting on a dozen eggs for 26 days, Jamey took her off yesterday. We know 26 days is too long to wait for chicks- they usually arrive in 20 or 21 days. Fanny hatched a chick on day 23, but it died right away. It appeared that she never got off the nest to let it come out properly- it was pretty well flattened.

She was so determined to set and wait for her chicks to hatch. This makes me sad. Not just because I'm fairly emotional right now and I happen to be waiting for my chick to hatch, but because we're pretty sure it was our fault.

After Jamey took her off her clutch and we leg-banded her blue (we want to make sure she's had adequate food, drink and rest before we let her set again- if she even wants to), he opened her eggs in an attempt to figure out the problem. There were chicks inside- in varying stages of development- mostly young.

The mistake we think we made was not putting fresh eggs under her when we moved her to the broody box. We had done this with Emma. Giving them fresh eggs gives a better chance that the eggs are viable since when they are deciding whether or not to become broody, they may set on their clutch for several days (thus starting the chick development process) only to get off again for long enough to stop the process. Once they are in the broody box, they have been setting on (and sometimes off) the clutch for several days already. When we move them in, they really have nothing else to do and we can keep a better eye on them without disturbing the whole flock.

We're not sure how this explains the one chick who did hatch. Maybe Fanny or another hen laid it in with the others just before we moved her. That's our best guess. If anyone has another suggestion of what may have gone wrong, we'd love your ideas.

We're facing less of an egg yield and wondering if our two-year old layers aren't laying as often and the decision of what to do with them. I think we should provide some sort of hen retirement plan, but Jamey prefers the more practical harvest and stew option. So, while we decide about the older hens, do we order more chicks or hold out for another hen to go broody?

I have a feeling this is going to be the last time I think about these chickens for a little while. I do still feel for Fanny. All that setting and waiting and hoping. All for nothing. What keeps me from getting weepy is the fact that she has a bird brain and is probably over it by now. Pin It

Fresh Greens, Homemade Dressings & Michael Pollan

We ate fresh greens from our garden last year and I used bought salad dressing. I didn't think too much about it. I did mix up my own now and then and they were very good, but the bought dressing was easy.

garlic, lettuce and spinach- photo taken yesterday

Two things have inspired me to switch over to homemade dressings this year. Earlier this spring, I came across a few recipes for dressings in Simply in Season and made a mental note that I wanted to try them. They looked extrememly easy. The greens started rolling in this week, so I tried a couple. What coincided with the greens has been my second inspiration- reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. Oh, please, pretty please, go find this book- library, Amazon, where ever. Just drop what you're doing and go get it.

From the book jacket (this book was also just released in paperback):

"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." These simple words go to the heart of Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, the well-considered answers he provides to the questions posed in the bestselling The Omnivore's Dilemma. Humans used to know how to eat well, Pollan argues. But the balanced dietary lessons that were once passed down through generations have been confused, complicated, and distorted by food industry marketers, nutritional scientists, and journalists-all of whom have much to gain from our dietary confusion. As a result, we face today a complex culinary landscape dense with bad advice and foods that are not "real." These "edible foodlike substances" are often packaged with labels bearing health claims that are typically false or misleading. Indeed, real food is fast disappearing from the marketplace, to be replaced by "nutrients," and plain old eating by an obsession with nutrition that is, paradoxically, ruining our health, not to mention our meals. Michael Pollan's sensible and decidedly counterintuitive advice is: "Don't eat anything that your great-great grandmother would not recognize as food." Writing In Defense of Food, and affirming the joy of eating, Pollan suggests that if we would pay more for better, well-grown food, but buy less of it, we'll benefit ourselves, our communities, and the environment at large. Taking a clear-eyed look at what science does and does not know about the links between diet and health, he proposes a new way to think about the question of what to eat that is informed by ecology and tradition rather than by the prevailing nutrient-by-nutrient approach. In Defense of Food reminds us that, despite the daunting dietary landscape Americans confront in the modern supermarket, the solutions to the current omnivore's dilemma can be found all around us. In looking toward traditional diets the world over, as well as the foods our families-and regions-historically enjoyed, we can recover a more balanced, reasonable, and pleasurable approach to food. Michael Pollan's bracing and eloquent manifesto shows us how we might start making thoughtful food choices that will enrich our lives and enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy.

End quote.

Now, after all that reading I just made you do, you're probably hungry for some greens and dressing. Right?? Here are three recipes for you. Each of these recipes are super-quick. Just put the ingredients in a jar and shake.

Ginger Dressing (adapted from Simply in Season) serves 4

6 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. dijon mustard
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 inches ginger root (peeled and minced) or 1-2 tbsp. minced ginger in a jar
ground pepper to taste

The original recipe called for 2 tbsp. soy sauce as well. We didn't like this addition- the soy sauce flavor was too over-powering. If you love soy sauce, try a little, adding more to taste.

Ginger Dressing

Basic Vinaigrette Dressing (adapted from Simply in Season) serves 4

2 tbsp. dijon mustard
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. honey
salt and pepper to taste

Lettuce and Egg Salad (recipe from my mom and Grandma)

This is not 'egg salad' on lettuce. You may even have this recipe or a very similar version tucked away in your recipe box- it's a classic. This salad is perfect right now when there aren't a whole lot of salad toppings for our greens yet. Depending on how much greens you have, you may need to double the dressing recipe in order to coat the greens well. I love this salad.

a large bowl of washed, dried and torn greens
7 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

Dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
4 tbsp. sugar
4 tbsp. vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Toss the dressing into the greens and 5 of the sliced hard-boiled eggs just before serving. Make another recipe of the dressing if your greens aren't coated well. Garnish the salad with the other two sliced eggs. Serve immediately.

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